Former Eastlake volleyball player Chelcie Spence always harbored dreams of playing Division I volleyball.

So when last year, Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, took a chance on her, it gave Spence an opportunity to shine and show people she was capable of being a talented libero at a high level.

Spence responded last year by recording 396 digs for the Hatters, while starting 23 times. This year, she already has 249 digs and is averaging 4.53 digs per set for the 9-4 Hatters.

"Chelcie is a tremendous player and more importantly a great person," Stetson coach Yang Dang said. "She was a late pickup for us last year, and she played well as a freshman. Chelcie gives us a great presence on defense and we count on her a great deal. We were fortunate to pick her up so late. She is very talented and she is getting better all the time. We loved what we saw of her on tape and we felt she was someone who could certainly play on this level."

Spence is grateful for the opportunity that Dang and the university gave her.

"All I wanted was a chance to play at the Division 1 level and coach Dang gave me a chance to join the program and it has worked out great," Spence said. "I've been given a great opportunity and I'm going to give it my best every day."

Former Eastlake volleyball player Chelcie Spence is a standout libero for Stetson University.(Photo11: Steve_Simoneau/Stetson University)

Spence was a standout at Eastlake High School, where she helped lead the team to three district titles and three bidistrict titles. In her senior year, she had 548 digs.

"Coming into college, I had confidence that I could play at this level," Spence said. "Throughout my career, I had always played on teams against older players in club volleyball and that allowed me to gain a lot of confidence. But I don't stop working, I want to get better all the time."

Stetson competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and Spence said this year's team has worked hard for its 9-4 record, which includes a 1-0 record in league play. The Hatters play again on Friday, Sept. 28, at Kennesaw State.

"We have great energy on this team and we've grown so much since last season," Spence said. "We have won some close, hard-fought matches this year and that's helped us from a confidence standpoint. If we keep working, keep getting better, we can do some great things this season. I'm so happy to be here. Stetson is a great school, a tough school. It's far away from El Paso, but I have great support from my family and I want to represent them as much as well as I can and do great things."

Coronado to honor 1978 volleyball squad

Coronado High School will honor the 1978 Thunderbirds volleyball team, which finished state runner-up in the Class 4A state tournament, prior to Tuesday's home match vs. Franklin. The varsity match is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Coronado beat Port Neches-Groves 15-10, 7-13, 18-16 in the state semifinals, then lost to San Antonio Churchill, 13-15, 15-8, 15-3 in the state championship match.